Changing internal pressure to achieve variable thermal conductivity in thermal insulation
Paper in proceedings, 2015
Cold climates might have a variable need for thermal insulation. When there are large heat loads a low Uvalue
is preferable, and opposite when heat loads are low and it is cold outdoors. One way to adjust the Uvalue
is to change the gas pressure within the insulation. This would be especially effective in nano-porous
materials where the relation between pressure and thermal conductivity is stronger. Measurements have been
conducted on an aerogel blanket and a fumed silica material. The results show an almost linear dependence
in thermal conductivity at pressures between 1 kPa and 100 kPA for both materials. In the measurements,
the thermal conductivity increase by a factor between 1.5 and 2.6 (highest conductivity divided by lowest
conductivity).
thermal conductivity
nano-porous insulation
thermal insulation
varied pressure insulation
Adaptive façade